BP's Whiting Refinery Restarts After Flooding Outage

BP's BP Whiting refinery in Indiana, the largest in the Midwest, is back to normal operations after flooding from a severe thunderstorm knocked several units offline last week, according to industry data cited by Reuters.

The temporary shutdown sent shockwaves through the region's fuel market. Gasoline prices in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan jumped as much as $0.27 a gallon earlier this week compared with last, according to GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan. Nationwide prices barely budged, up just $0.02 a gallon, AAA data showed.

With Whiting back online, supply pressures should start to ease. Still, the episode highlights how quickly a single refinery outage can ripple through the Midwest, where fuel supplies are more concentrated. For BP, it means its most important U.S. refinery is back in play at a critical moment in the summer driving season.